First of all, please let me congratulate all of you on the start of your diplomatic activities. I am certain that your active work will promote the development of relations between the Russian Federation and your nations.

I’ll say a few words about the current situation. Today, the world is going through a period of trials; the series of acute conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa serves as evidence of this. As noted recently in the Deauville G8 summit’s Declaration, the changes taking place there are historic in nature and may pave the way for transformations similar to those that took place in Central Europe after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

However, we are concerned by the active use of armed forces and the loss of lives during these conflicts. We believe international community’s objective is to promote the cessation of hostilities and to organise a negotiation process with participation by all interested parties, as stated in the corresponding United Nations Security Council resolutions. We will certainly continue to consistently pursue this line with regard to all states currently experiencing such dramatic changes.

The events in the Arab world have once again confirmed a simple fact: it is imperative to hold socioeconomic reforms in a timely manner, reforms that take into account the interests of a wide majority of the population. Together with other countries, Russia is ready to offer a long-term global partnership, aimed at strengthening the rule of law in these states, while simultaneously providing economic stability.

In resolving these and other matters, Russia strives for constructive dialogue with all interested states. We are satisfied to note the progressive nature of our relations with the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, which are founded on longstanding friendship between our peoples and experience in the successful implementation of economic and humanitarian projects.

We consider promoting our cooperation with the Republic of Burundi to be very important. Strengthening peace and stability on the African continent is in our common interests.

Russia maintains an open and mutually beneficial dialogue with Zimbabwe. I expect that together, we will open a new cooperation potential in trade, economy, culture and education.

The historic ties between Russia and the Holy See are developing dynamically and are now official diplomatic relations. Our cooperation is marked by similar positions on a large number of issues, including moral and legal priorities that applied in interrelations between states. I am certain that on this basis, we will be able to achieve much in developing and broadening the scope of communication between people of different faiths and cultures, in order to resolve the most pressing humanitarian problems faced by the contemporary world.

We are interested in activating relations with Japan, our neighbour and highly important partner, as much as possible. During my meeting with Prime Minister Naoto Kan in Deauville, we discussed issues on the bilateral agenda. Among the highest-priority challenges, of course, is helping Japan recover from March’s natural and technological disaster, as well as deepening economic, science and technology cooperation. I will also note our close cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region, where Russia strives to build a new security and cooperation architecture based on multilateral approaches.

We are determined to continue strengthening our ties with the Argentine Republic – one of our key partner-nations in Latin America. We are paying particular attention to broadening contacts in the high tech sector and the joint search for solutions to problems in all-around modernisation and innovative development. These are challenges that stand before both our countries.

Russia and the Republic of India have been linked through mutual respect and sincere friendship for a very long period. In modern times, we have reached a level of relations classified as privileged strategic partnership. Its defining characteristics are trust-based political dialogue and large-scale trade and economic as well as military and technical ties, in addition to promising cultural projects. The official visit by the Prime Minister of India to Russia, coming up this year, is set to become another important landmark for broadening this cooperation. We are certain that strengthening Russian-Indian relations serves our national interests and makes a significant input into maintaining global stability and ensuring security in South Asia.

We are interested in the development of multidimensional bilateral cooperation with the Republic of Equatorial Guinea. President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo’s recent visit to Russia, in June of this year, helped in working toward that goal. We hope that his efforts as African Union Chairman will seriously contribute to strengthening stability on the continent.

Russia has solid traditions of friendship with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. We are satisfied to remark the growing scope of our economic cooperation, including in the fuel and energy sector, where Vietsovpetro, a Russian-Vietnamese joint venture and the flagship of our cooperation, has been operating for 30 years now. Last fall, during talks in Hanoi at the highest level, we reached some very important agreements on the further development of all our relations. Our strategic partnership has been broadening with every year, covering more new areas, and in our view, it serves as a factor of security both in Southeast Asia and in the Asia-Pacific region as a whole.

We value the open nature of our ties with the Republic of El Salvador. We hope that more active contacts between our nations will promote strengthening cooperation with the entire Central American region.

We also value our political cooperation on the international arena with the Republic of Rwanda, based on our similar positions on key modern problems.

Ladies and gentlemen, colleagues,

In conclusion, I would like to sincerely wish you success in your diplomatic mission. I truly hope that during your mission, you will get better acquainted with our nation and come to love it. This will facilitate the development of bilateral ties and the overall improvement of the situation and security on our planet.